Closures for large mouth containers



Jan. 17, 1967 M. J. was 3,298,415

" MNDAUGQSJ-KLYGIS CLOSURES FOR LARGE MOUTH CONTAINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed April 7, 1964 INVENTOR jj 1511.17, 1967 M. J. KLYGISI 3,298,415 ICLOSURES FOR LARGE MOUTH CONTAINERS Filed April 7. 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Mmoauems J-KLYGIS BY H W ATTORNEYS INVENTOR 3, N CLOSURES FORLARGEMOUTHCONTAINERS Mindaugas Julius Klygis, Chicago, Ill., assignor toContinental Can Company, Inn, New York,N.Y., a corporation of'NewYork iY Filed Apr. 7, 1964, Set. No. 357,937 y 4 Claims, (Cl. 150-.5)"

This invention relates to new and novel closure assemblies and moreparticularly to assemblies comprising a snap-enclosure member or a screwtype closure member, either of which is formed of flexible material, anda container formedof flexible material.

It is old and well known to form containers, and closure members"therefor, from flexible thermoplastic material. Many offthe prior vartcontainers have included necks with screw threads formed thereon forcooperating with a screw-threaded closure member or cap, whilefotherwell-known containers have included necks with protuberances thereonforcooperating with a snap-on type of closure memberor cap. Suchcontainersdonot always provide a'satisfactory seal such that liquidsand'gra'nulated powdery materials maybe packaged therein Withouttroublesome leakage or possible spillage. The..usual cause of leakage in.the prior art containers' esults from imperfect cooperationbetween theconnecting means on the container and the closuremember. Such imperfectcooperation may result because of manufacturing tolerances or from'improper design. s v I I It is an object of this invention to provide anew and novel container assembly wherein an improved seal is providedbetween a container and a closure member without reliance upon sealingrings or sealing compounds.

Anotlier object of this invention is to provide a container assemblywherein the container assembly comprises a closure member and acontainer formed of flexible thermoplastic. material and thecontainerincludes a flexible upper portion which deforms and 'flexes ,within anannular cavity of the closure member to provide a tight seal uponassembly of the closure member with-the container. t y

Another objectof this invention. is to provide a plastic snap-on closuremember comprising a centerpanel, an inner wall extending upwardly andoutwardly from the center panel, an outerwall. spaced. outwardly'fromthe inner wall. and connected thereto by a bight portion to define anannular cavity, an upwardly and outwardly facing shoulder formed on theinner wall and underlying the bight portion, and locking rib. means onthe outer wall extending inwardly therefrom.

Another object of this inventionlis to provide a snapon closure member,of the type set forth above, wherein theinner wall is spaced outwardlyfrom the center panel by a recessed chuck panel, the upwardlyandoutwardly facing shoulder being defined by a thickened portion of theinnerwall. e

Another object of this invention is to provide a flexible thermoplasticcontainer which includes an upper container portion and a neck portion,the upper container portion curving upwardlyand inwardly and beingprovided with an upwardly tapered and inwardly facing flexible flange,the flange having a terminal edge defining a filling opening for thecontainenthe upper container portion merging-with the neck portion andbeing. offset therefrom to define an annular locking-bead.

' Another object ofthis invention is to provide a container, of the typeset forth above, wherein the annular locking bead includes .an-outwardlyand downwardly facthis invention is to provide a flexi- United StatesPatent 3,298,4 l5 Pateriteddarn. '17, 1967" "ice ble plastic-closuremember comprising a center panel and depending innerand outer wallsdisposed in spaced relation to definean annular cavity, screw threadlocking means on the inside surface ofthe outer wall, and. projectionson the center panel defining aslot for receiving a tool to aid inconnecting and disconnecting the closure membertoacontainer I i I i n 1A further object of this invention is to providean assembly comprising aclosure member formed of flexible material and arcontainerformed offlexible material, the closure member 'comprisinga center panel, aninner wall extending upwardly and outwardly from the center panel, anouter .wall spaced outwardly from the inner wall, and connectedthereto.by a bight port ion to define an annular cavity, an upwardlyandoutwardly facing shoulder formed on the inner wall and underlying thebight portion, and locking rib means on said outer wall extendinginwardly; therefrom; the container including an upper container portionwhich curves upwardly and inwardly and is provided with an upwardlytapered and inwardly facing flange, the flange having a terminal edgedefining a filling opening for the container, the upper containerportion merging with a neck portion to definean annular locking'bead;theflange being. received within the annular cavityandubein'gsuflflciently flexible so as to conform to the contour of the bightportion, the terminal edgelabutting the shoulder on the inner wall, andthe locking rib means being snapped over the annular locking bead. I

With the above and other objects in view thatwill hereinafter appear,the nature of the invention will be more clearly'understood by referenceto the following detailed. descrip tion,'the appended claimed subjectmatter and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings. nv

Inthe drawings: f FIGURE 1 is afragmentary perspective view whichillustrates one form of container assembly embodying the presentinvention. n I

' FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional exploded-view whichillustrates the closure member and container of FIGURE 1 prior to theassembly thereof.

-FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view, taken on line3-3 of FIGURE 1, and illustrates the closlire member and containersubsequent to assembly there- 0 I FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspectiveview which illustrates another form of container assembly embodying thepresent invention. p

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional exploded view whichillustrates the closure member and container of FIGURE 4 prior to theassembly thereof.

, FIGURE 6 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view, taken on line66 of FIGURE 4, and illustrates the clo- Sll' member and containersubsequent to assembly there- 0 Referring to the drawings in detail,there is illustrated in FIGURE 1 a container assembly, generallyindicated by the numeral 10, which container assembly 10 includes asnap-on closure member 11 and a container 12. The closure member 11 andthe container 12 are each formed of conventional thermoplastic materialby well known injection molding or blow molding processes.

The closure member 11 includes a center panel 13 which is spaced above achuck panel 14 and is connected thereto by an angularly disposed firstpanel step 15. An inner wall 16 extends outwardly and upwardly from thechuck panel 14 and is spaced inwardly from an outer wall 17 by anarcuate bight portion 18. As is apparent in FIG- URE 2, the inner wall16 and the outer wall 17 are spaced by the bight portion 18 so as todefine an annular cavity 19. The inner wall 16 is provided with athickened portion 20 which extends into the annular cavity 19 to form anupwardly and outwardly facing stop shoulder 21 adjacent to the bightportion 18.

A locking rib 22 is formed on the outer wall 17 and extends inwardlytherefrom toward the inner wall 16. The locking rib 22 is preferablyformed as an annular rib but may also be formed by a plurality of smallnibs or protrusions (not shown).

A tab 23 is integrally formed on the outer wall 17, as is best shown'inFIGURE 1, for aiding in the removal of the closure member 11 from thecontainer 12. Also shown in FIGURE 1 is a pair of score lines 24 whichare formed in the outer wall 17 to define a tear strip 25 connected tothe tab 23. A reinforcing head 26 is disposed adjacent the innermostends of the score lines 24 so as to provide a thick cross section inorder to stop tear action along the score lines 24 and thereby preservethe closure member 11 substantially intact and capable of reclosing thecontainer 12.

The container 12, as is best illustrated in FIGURE 2, includes a tubularcontainer body 30, a neck portion 31 and an upper container portion,generally indicated by the numeral 32. The upper container portion 32curves upwardly and inwardly, as at 33, and is provided with an upwardlytapered and inwardly facing flexible flange 34. The flexible flange 34has a terminal edge 35 which defines a large mouth or filling opening 36for the container 12.

The upper container portion 32 merges with the neck portion 31 and isoffset outwardly therefrom to define an annular locking head 37. Thelocking bead 37 includes an outwardly and downwardly facing surface 38which extends circumferentially about the container 12.

It is apparent, from a consideration of FIGURESZ and 3, that duringassembly of the snap-on closure member 11 and the container 12, thecenter panel 13 and chuck panel 14 are initially disposed within themouth or filling opening 36 such that the terminal edge 35, of theflexible flange 34, is engaged by the inner wall 16. As the, closuremember 11 is forced onto the container 12, the upper container portion32 is forced past the locking rib 22 and is deformed so as to fit intothe annular cavity 19 and conform to the contour of the bight portion18. With the closure member 11 firmly seated on the "container 12, thelocking rib 22 is snugly engaged with the surface 38 of the annularlocking head 37. The terminal edge 35, of the upper container portion32, is compressed against the shoulder 21, on the inner wall 16, and atight seal is provided between the flexible fiange 34 and the bightportion 18. The tightness of the seal results not only from the largearea of contact between the upper container portion 32, with the outerwall 17 and bight portion 18, but also because of the tendency for theflex- L and outer wall are connected together by a bight portion 56 andspaced so as to provide an annular cavity 57 'therebetween. The innerwall 54 depends from the center panel 53 and is connected theretoadjacent the bight portion 56. A stop shoulder 58 is preferably providedon the inner wall 54 in underlying relation to the bight portion 56. Theshoulder 58 faces upwardly and outwardly from the inner wall 54 andintersects the bight portion 56 substantially normal thereto.

The closure member 51 is provided with an internal '.screw thread 60 onthe insid of Ill; outer wall 55 to provide means for locking the closuremember 51 onto the container 52. A plurality of quadrant projections 61are formed on the center panel 53 and extend upwardly therefrom inspaced relation so as to define a pair of diametrical slots 62 forreceiving a leverage tool (not shown) for tightening or loosening theclosure member 51 on the container 52. The width of the slots 62 issuitably designed to match that of a mixing stick (not shown), for paintand the like, which mixing stick is an ideally suited leverage tool fortightening and loosening the closure member 51.

The container 52 is quite similar to the container 12 and includes atubular container body 70, a neck portion 71 and an upper containerportion, generally indicaed by the numeral 72. The upper containerportion 72 curves upwardly and inwardly, as at 73, and is provided withan inwardly facing flexible flange 74. The flexible flange 74 has aterminal edge 75 which defines a large mouth or filling opening 76 forthe container 52.

The upper container portion 72 merges with the neck portion 71 uponwhich is provided a helical screw thread 77 for cooperating with thescrew thread 60 to lock the closure member 5 1.up0n the container 52.

It is apparent from a consideration of FIGURES 5 and 6, that duringassembly of the closure member 51 and the container 52, the center panel53 and inner wall 54 close the filling opening 76. As the closure member51 is screwed onto the container 52, the upper container portion 72 ismoved into the annular cavity 57 such that the flexible flange 74 isdeformed so as to conform to the configuration of the bight portion 56.When the closure member 51 is tightened down on the container 52, theterminal edge 75 bears against the stop shoulder 58 and improves thetight seal between the flexible flange 74 and the the bight portion 56.The tightness of the seal results not only from the large area ofcontact between the upper container portion 72, with the outer wall 55and bight portion 56, but also because of the tendency for the flexibleflange 74 to return from the deformed configuration, as is shown inFIGURE 6, to the unstressed configuration which is shown in FIGURE 5.

It is apparent from the foregoing detailed description that there hasbeen disclosed various types of containers and closure members which areparticularly adapted for holding various liquids such that no leakagewill occur. The inturned flexible flanges 34 and 74 not only provide forforming a liquid-tight seal but, when the containers are used to packagepaints or lacquers, the terminal edges 35 and 75 thereon provide a veryeffective edge for efficient scraping of a paint brush or the like.

While a preferred form and arrangement of parts has been shown inillustrating the invention, it is to be clearly understood that variouschanges in details and arrangement of parts may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in theappended claimed subject matter.

I claim:

1. An assembly comprising a closure memberformed of flexible materialand a container formed of flexible material, said closure membercomprising a central panel, an inner wall, an outer wall spacedoutwardly from said inner wall and connected thereto by a bight portionto define an annular cavity, an upwardlv and outwardly facing shoulderformed on said inner wall and underlying said bight portion, locking ribmeans on said outer wall extending inwardly therefrom, said annularcavity being defined by an arcuate surface between said locking ribmeans and said shoulder, said arcuate surface being of a predetermineddistance as measured thereal-ong in an axial plane taken through saidclosure member, said container including an upper container portionwhich curves upwardly and inwardly and is provided with an upwardlytapered and inwardly facing flange, said flange having a terminal edgedefining a filling opening for said container, said upper containerportion merging with a neck portion having locking means thereon, thedistance between said locking means and said terminal edge beingsubstantially equal to said predetermined distance as measuredthereal-ong in an axial plane taken through said container, said flangebeing received within said annular cavity and being sufiicientlyflexible so as to conform to the contour of said bight portion, saidterminal edge being in abutting seating relationship with said shoulderon said inner wall, and said locking rib means cooperating with thelocking means on said neck portion such that said flange and said bightportion provide a seal between said container and said closure member.

2. The assembly as defined in claim 1 including another bight portionopening in opposed relationship to said first-mentioned bight portionfor connecting said inner wall to said central panel, said inner wallbeing progressively reduced in thickness from said shoulder toward saidsecond bight portion, a tab provided onsaid outer wall, and at least onescore line formed in said outer wall to facilitate the rupturing of saidouter wall and the subsequent removal of said closure member from saidcontainer.

3. The assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein a tab is provided on saidouter wall, and at least one score line is formed in said outer Wall tofacilitate the rupture of said outer wall incident to the removal ofsaid closure member from said container.

4. The assembly as defined in claim 1 including another bight portionopening in opposed relationship to said first bight portion andconnecting said inner wall to said central panel, said central panelbeing disposed in a plane generally normal to the axis of said closuremember and between planes taken through said first-mentioned and anotherbight portion, said inner wall being progressively reduced in thicknessfrom said shoulder toward said second bight portion, a tab provided onsaid outer Wall, and a pair of weakened lines formed in said outer walladjacent said tab to facilitate the rupturing of said outer wall and thesubsequent removal of said closure member from said container.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,351,304 8/ 1920Shelton 215-46 2,833,324 5/1958 Burroughs 220 2,991,902 7/ 1961 Lind -.53,032,226 5/ 1962 Terwilliger 21541 3,074,579 1/ 1963 Miller 215-433,116,846 1/ 1964 Salrninen 21541 3,189,071 '6/ 1965 Balkema et al.21541 3,216,610 11/1965 Klygis 150-.5

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

1. AN ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A CLOSURE MEMBER FORMED OF FLEXIBLE MATERIALAND A CONTAINER FORMED OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL, SAID CLOSURE MEMBERCOMPRISING A CENTRAL PANEL, AN INNER WALL, AN OUTER WALL SPACEDOUTWARDLY FROM SAID INNER WALL AND CONNECTED THERETO BY A BIGHT PORTIONTO DEFINE AN ANNULAR CAVITY, AN UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY FACING SHOULDERFORMED ON SAID INNER WALL AND UNDERLYING SAID BIGHT PORTION, LOCKING RIBMEANS ON SAID OUTER WALL EXTENDING INWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID ANNULARCAVITY BEING DEFINED BY AN ARCUATE SURFACE BETWEEN SAID LOCKING RIBMEANS AND SAID SHOULDER, SAID ARCUATE SURFACE BEING OF A PREDETERMINEDDISTANCE AS MEASURED THEREALONG IN AN AXIAL PLANE TAKEN THROUGH SAIDCLOSURE MEMBER, SAID CONTAINER INCLUDING AN UPPER CONTAINER PORTIONWHICH CURVES UPWARDLY AND INWARDLY AND IS PROVIDED WITH AN UPWARDLYTAPERED AND INWARDLY FACING FLANGE, SAID FLANGE HAVING A TERMINAL EDGEDEFINING A FILLING OPENING FOR SAID CONTAINER, SAID UPPER CONTAINERPORTION MERGING WITH A NECK PORTION HAVING LOCKING MEANS THEREON, THEDISTANCE BETWEEN SAID LOCKING MEANS AND SAID TERMINAL EDGE BEINGSUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO SAID PREDETERMINED DISTANCE AS MEASUREDTHEREALONG IN AN AXIAL PLANE TAKEN THROUGH SAID CONTAINER, SAID FLANGEBEING RECEIVED WITHIN SAID ANNULAR CAVITY AND BEING SUFFICIENTLYFLEXIBLE SO AS TO CONFORM TO THE CONTOUR OF SAID BIGHT PORTION, SAIDTERMINAL EDGE BEING IN ABUTTING SEATING RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID SHOULDERON SAID INNER WALL, AND SAID LOCKING RIB MEANS COOPERATING WITH THELOCKING MEANS ON SAID NECK PORTION SUCH THAT SAID FLANGE AND SAID BIGHTPORTION PROVIDE A SEAL BETWEEN SAID CONTAINER AND SAID CLOSURE MEMBER.